The Thoughtful Counselor

In this episode, Dr. Aaron Smith teams up with Dr. Megan Speciale to interview Harvard professor of psychiatry and best-selling author ( Trauma and Recovery , Father-Daughter Incest ) Judith Lewis Herman, MD, on the treatment of Military Sexual Trauma. Dr. Herman explicates her ideas on both the dialectics of trauma and her famous 3-stage postmodern feminist approach as applied to the treatment of...

A conversation with Dr. David Nylund on the history and art of therapeutic letter writing. We discuss the emergence of letter writing in narrative therapy as an alternative to "traditional"notes and documentation, crafting letters that keep the conversation going, and new movements in how to use letter writing in therapeutic work. For more on David, links from the conversation, and the APA citatio...

Current installment of the Leader's Project: Eric Beeson In this episode, Dr. Allison Kramer interviews Dr. Gregory Moffatt about the impact of his self-disclosure of personal struggle in 2018's most popular Counseling Today article, "The Hurting Counselor," with a focus on Moffatt's Mantra: The professional counselor's ethical imperative to practice routine and crucial self-care. For more Gregory...

Current installment of the Leader's Project: Anna Flores Locke A conversation with Dr. Alyson Carr on (nearly) all you need to know when preparing to take the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE). We discuss why the test is important and useful for counselors, the format of the exam, and concrete ideas to help you prepare. For more on Alyson, links from the conversation,...

Mike talks with Nicole Stargell and Matt Glowiak on connecting with our communities "beyond the couch." We discuss the history of counselor community engagement, important considerations when starting out, and possible barriers to community outreach. For more on Nicole and Matt, links from the conversation, and the APA citation for this interview visit www.thethoughtfulcounselor.com

In this week's collaboration with The Theory of Change Podcast , Alfredo Palacios and Dr. Fred Hanna discusses existential anxiety and its relevance to counselors. As a follow up to EP98 (Existentialism in Counseling) Alredo and Dr. Hanna take a deeper dive into existential philosophy and ways that one can overcome anxiety and experience the thrill of being alive. They discuss techniques and resou...

Support us at www.patreon.com/thethoughtfulcounselor A conversation with Dr. Howard Schubiner on the latest neuroscience approaches to understanding and treating chronic pain.  Dr. Schubiner's Mind Body Program emphasizes the way the unconscious brain and neural pathways (versus structural abnormalities) are the cause of most chronic pain and require a different approach to treatment than standard...

Check out the Leaders Project interview with Fred Gingrich In her first  segment with The Thoughtful Counselor, Dr. Priscilla Wilson interviews Dr. Kimberly Warfield about a class project involving student exploration and immersion into their communities to explore factors and resources that support or hinder the development of multicultural education. For more on Priscilla and Kimberly, links fro...

Current installment of the Leader's Project: Fred Gingrich Building on last week's episode, Paul, Jesse, and Mike discuss the origins of The Ways Paradigm and expand on the ways of understanding, being, and intervening in relationship to spirituality and/or religion in the counseling process. For more on Paul and Jesse, links from the conversation, and the APA citation for this episode visit  http...

A conversation with Jesse Fox and Paul Deal on the history of religion and spirituality in the US, using thick approaches to engage our clients religious and/or spiritual lives, and the possibility of true pluralism and hospitality in counseling relationships and the helping professions. For more on Jesse and Paul, links from the conversation, and the APA citation for this episode visit https://wp...

EDITORIAL NOTE: In June of 2020, after a series of murders of black Americans including Breonna Taylor and George Floyd at the hands of law enforcement, a long-time listener raised a concern regarding this episode, particularly a shift in the conversation from the context of military combat to general policing. Upon reflection, we note that while the discussion was meant to focus on the military,...

Support us at www.patreon.com/thethoughtfulcounselor A conversation with Victoria Kress on defining non-suicidal self-injury, meaning making, the ethics of autonomy, and creative interventions for practice. TO learn more about Victoria, links from the conversation, and the APA citation for the episode visit www.thethoughfulcounselor.com

The Thoughtful Counselor team reflects on the challenges of keeping a podcast going, ways our interviews have changed us, and what we are looking forward to in 2019.  

A conversation with Dr. Susan Branco on counselors' experience of client-initiated microaggressions, ways to respond, and the need for greater ethical discernment and reflection in complex situations.   For more about Susan, links from the conversation, and the APA citation for this episode visit www.thethoughtfulcounselor.com

A conversation with Dr. James Coan about the research that led to the development of social baseline theory and about potential implications of the theory for clinical work. For more on Jim, links from the conversation, and the APA citation for this episode visit  https://wp.me/p7R6fn-ts .

Listener and self-proclaimed Thoughtful Counselor "groupie" Martin Timoney interviews Everett Worthington on defining humility, the relational nature of humility, and interventions to boost humility. For more on Everett and Martin, links from the conversation, and the APA citation for this episode visit  https://wp.me/p7R6fn-ti .

This week, Dr. Allison Kramer speaks with Professor David L. Prucha on the challenges parents and children face in the wake of divorce. Going beyond platitudes, Prucha offers concrete clinical suggestions on how counselors can help both parents and children to avoid the pitfalls of poor parenting, even in times of great emotional pain. For more on David, links from the conversation, and the APA ci...

A conversation with Madeline Clark on the intersections of poverty, social class, and mental health, poverty beliefs among counselors, and how the counseling profession can chart a path forward. For more on Madeline, links from the conversation, and the APA citation for this episode visit  https://wp.me/p7R6fn-sY .

A conversation with Samara Stone on challenges to practice building in diverse communities, demystifying mental health services, and making a difference while trying to make a living. For more on Samara, links from the conversation, and the APA citation for this episode visit https://wp.me/p7R6fn-sK .

A conversation with Dr. Kevin Doyle on the origins of the current opioid crisis in the United States, our collective struggle with pain, and what counselors can do at the systemic, community, and individual levels.  For more on Kevin, links from the conversation, and the APA citation for this episode visit  https://wp.me/p7R6fn-sx .

A conversation with Guy MacPherson, founder of The Trauma Therapy Project, on owning our own stories and histories, cultivating presence in our work, and is new cause in inner work for practitioners interested in trauma work. For more on Guy, links from the conversation, and the APA citation for this episode visit https://wp.me/p7R6fn-sp .

A conversation with Dr. Jori Berger-Greenstein on what behavioral medicine is, the role of counselors in assessing medical symptoms, and navigating interdisciplinary collaboration (even when it's frustrating). For more on Jori, links from the conversation, and the APA citation for this episode visit https://wp.me/p7R6fn-sg .

A conversation with Dr. Alfredo Palacios on defining existentialism, some of the pillars of existential theory that are most helpful, and how we can incorporate existential ideas into counseling. For more on Alfredo, links from the conversation, and the APA citation for this episode visit https://wp.me/p7R6fn-s5 .

Over the past decade, the #MeToo movement has ushered mainstream awareness of the overwhelming occurrence of sexual abuse across all demographics of our society. In this episode, Dr. Megan Speciale will interview sexual trauma experts Wendy Maltz and Jimanekia Eborn on how to support survivors' sexual wellness after abuse, including specific strategies that you can use with your clients and loved...

A conversation with Dr. Barbara Herlihy on the the counseling profession going international, how this changes the way we see boundaries, and safeguarding against the exportation of Eurocentric ideas. For more on Barbara, links from the conversation, and the APA citation for this episode visit https://wp.me/p7R6fn-rA .